(MENAFN- Swissinfo) “Every single country is vulnerable to pandemics. Every single country can have its economy, its society fundamentally undermined by a pandemic. We know this,” said Suerie Moon, co-director of the Global health Centre at the Geneva graduate Institute.This is the why WHO member states have been working on a pandemic treaty. The hope is that such a treaty will help the world cope with the next pandemic better. A key issue is fair access to vaccines and treatments.
External Content Barbara Stocking, who chairs the panel for a global public health convention advising the WHO, added:“On medicines and so on, I think this is the most difficult issue to be handling. I hope most countries are signed up to the view that there should be equity. I don't think developing countries will sign up to any treaty, when they don't see that there are plans to get much nearer to equity.”
Can vaccine and drug companies be persuaded to be generous?
Thomas Cueni, Director General, International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA) said:“You cannot coerce know-how sharing, because either you're willing to share your wisdom with me or you're not. Intellectual Property (IP) waivers, which mean ignoring patents, would actually be a huge barrier.”
Transparency and rapid information sharing are on the agenda too. Inside Geneva podcast host Imogen Foulkes asked:“We still don't know exactly how and where and from what Covid-19 came. Will we find that out do you think? Is the investigation still going on?”
Maria van Kerkhove, who is the technical lead for the Covid-19 response at the WHO, concluded:“We're certainly going to do everything we can to figure out how this pandemic began. And it does depend on collaboration, scientific collaboration, collaboration from member states, sharing of information, sharing data, and we need more collaboration from China, we've been very vocal about that."
For more insights and discussions from Switzerland's international city, subscribe to Inside Geneva on apple podcastsexternal link , spotifyexternal link , or wherever you get your podcasts. And subscribe to our newsletter to get all the International Geneva news and views from Imogen Foulkes in your inbox:
External Content Sign up! The latest updates from International Geneva – in your inbox
Email address International Geneva For more audio content from SWI swissinfo.ch, explore The Swiss Connection, a podcast with Swiss stories for the world.
More
More
Hear Swiss stories for the world on our podcast
Why is Switzerland so sweet on cryptocurrency? What's it like to be a Swiss expat in America? Swiss women couldn't vote until when?!
More
More
the changing face of international geneva
international geneva is an important hub for multilateralism. but it is facing some unprecedented challenges.